Arts & Entertainment News
The McKinley Park neighborhood celebrated Memorial Day 2018 with its annual parade through the neighborhood and a ceremony honoring veterans, all organized by the McKinley Park Civic Association, the neighborhood's longest-serving community organization. Marchers began at 10 a.m. on Monday, May 28, at the McKinley Park branch of the Chicago Public Library and wound through the neighborhood to the William McKinley American Legion Post 231 for a ceremony to honor veterans.
Many organizations participated in the parade as marchers, including a number of new groups this year, on a Memorial Day marked by ideal weather. Vintage cars joined the parade, including an antique Chicago police car, thanks to connections through Beat 912 of the Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS).
Acrobatics and feats of daring-do will again return to McKinley Park this summer through an expanded schedule of the popular Midnight Circus. The all-ages performances in the park will take place over Labor Day weekend, August 31 to September 2, and now include a Friday night show, in addition to two shows on both Saturday and Sunday.
The extremely popular event has sold out in past years at McKinley Park. Variable pricing makes tickets affordable to the local community, and they go on sale July 1 on the Midnight Circus website. Proceeds from the event benefit McKinley Park programs and improvements via the McKinley Park Advisory Council, which also helps with many aspects of the circus shows.
Cesar Gonzalez, owner and proprietor of the popular Pl-zeň gastropub on 18th Street in the Pilsen neighborhood, pitched his plan for a neighborhood brewpub at 34th Street and Ashland Avenue during the Wednesday, May 16, meeting of the McKinley Park Development Council. If the development goes through, Gonzalez said he plans to operate a bar and restaurant with brewing capabilities on the first floor of 3401 S. Ashland Ave., and live with his family in one of the rehabbed residences above it.
The plan requires changing the zoning on this property from its current residential-only designation to C1-2 commercial zoning that would allow a first floor business with brewing capabilities. Liliana Escarpita of the 12th Ward office said that the decision on the zoning change needs to happen soon, given city zoning committee meeting schedules and construction loan deadlines tied to the project. Anyone with feedback on the proposed zoning change should quickly contact the 12th Ward office at ward12@cityofchicago.org or (773) 523-8250.
McKinley Park's third annual Summer Concert Series still has a limited number of available slots for performers who wish to showcase their talent at the popular weekly event. Running in conjunction with the expanded McKinley Park Farmers Market, the 2018 concert series presents performances every Sunday afternoon from June 3 through September.
Interested musicians, dancers and other performers should contact summer concert series organizer and McKinley Park Advisory Council member Dayna Calderon by Friday, May 4, 2018, by sending a private message through her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/CalderonDayna/.
Read more: Neighborhood Fame Beckons for Summer Concert Series Performers
Renowned Chicago artist Marcos Raya has relocated his estudio to McKinley Park after decades of working from the Pilsen neighborhood. Raya, who is well-known for his visual art, his murals in Pilsen and his longtime art and activism, said rising prices were a key consideration for making the move.
"Mostly it was rents going up," he said. "I was also a little tired of the space."
